


gideon the vampire slayer

by mothwrites



Series: COLA crossovers [4]
Category: The Shapeshifter & Unleashed - Ali Sparkes
Genre: AU, Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 05:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2055198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothwrites/pseuds/mothwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Gideon, this is your destiny.”</p><p>“Me? No, not me. It was you, it was supposed to be-” he stared at Owen wildly with those clear, blue, innocent eyes. “I’m destiny-free, really!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	gideon the vampire slayer

The first words Owen heard from his slayer were, “you mean Dax, right?”

He looked at Gideon; tall, blonde, all of sixteen years old, fresh-faced and anxious. He could see all the reasons why he was scared, yes- but he could see the potential, too.

“He doesn’t mean me,” Dax said gently, stood beside them. “It’s you, Gid. It’s always been you.”

“But- but, your mum-”

“It’s not hereditary,” Owen reminded them both, while guiltily concealing the fact that it was Dax he’d sought out originally. “Gideon, this is your destiny.”

“Me? No, not me. It was _you_ , it was supposed to be-” he stared at Owen wildly with those clear, blue, innocent eyes. “I’m destiny-free, really.”

“No, you’re not.” Owen looked at both children and silently prayed forgiveness for what he would do to their lives. “You are the slayer.”

 

*

Dax toyed absent-mindedly with a stray piece of kindling he’d picked up from Owen’s desk. His sat on a workbench, legs swinging, determinedly not looking at his new teacher and best friend’s new watcher.

“I’m okay, I guess,” he finally answered. “Relieved, even. I’ve known it was gonna be him for years.”

“And?” Owen prompted.

“Worried,” Dax added, after another long pause. “No, _terrified._ He’s my best friend. I don’t want him to be in this kind of danger.”

“The kind of danger you’ve been in before?”

“I wasn’t a slayer, I was just a kid. My job was to be protected, not to... well, to protect.” Dax looked up, as if a thought had just occurred to him. “Mr Hind, did you know my mum?”

“No,” Owen shook his head, “but I knew of her. She was well-respected, talked about often.. I only joined the watcher’s council a few years before she-”  
“Died,” Dax answered for him, when Owen trailed off. “You can say it, it’s okay. I know she’s dead, I was there.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t let it happen to him.”

 

*

 

 _Another day, another demon,_ Owen thought, as he lay on the dusty floor of the workshop. At least this time he’d gotten away with nothing more serious than a flesh wound, from a claw that had ripped through his trousers to scratch his thigh. Mia ran over, white as a sheet from shock of, and Owen tried to lift up his head to tell her that it was okay, not as serious as it looked- but strangely enough, he couldn’t seem to gather the energy to do it. He could only look up enough to see the blood running down his leg. Quite a lot of blood, in fact.

“Oh, God-” Mia gasped, trying to put pressure on the wound with her hands, but shaking too badly to make any real effect. “You said- in woodshop, you said, the femoral artery-”

 _You’ll bleed to death,_ he warned her, the first time she’d put a knife to wood.

“Mia, it’s-”  
“Hold on,” she instructed, and pushed down harder. She looked at him one last time, expression unreadable, before she muttered to herself and closed her eyes.

When she had finished, and Owen had sat up, he could only stare. Her hands were covered in his blood, but he was no longer bleeding; no longer tired, even. She returned his gaze, and he knew she was thinking, _he’s figuring out how he can use this._

Owen only thought, _what will this do to you, in the end?_

 

*

 

It was a strange, strange moment, when Gideon realised he _trusted_ Lisa. For all their history; the fights, the spells, the _blood_ , she’d become a sort of stable point in his life. Enough that he trusted her to come into his home, be around him and his dad, fight together, even. (He didn’t know how to explain to his dad that she was a vampire. Honestly, the subject had never come up- and he intended to keep it that way.)

Sometimes, he called her angel, because of her long, blonde hair. Sometimes, she bared her teeth and threatened to drain his body dry. They learned to co-exist, for the most part.

He trusted Lisa, but not with his best friend.

“If you hurt him-”

“You’ll do what?” She practically giggled, moving towards him, past the candles that littered her underground home. “Put a stake through me?”

“ _Yes._ ”

“Could you, though? Really?”

He thought back to the night before, coming across Dax and Lisa in the cemetery. He’d yelled, thinking she’d gone for his throat, before he saw hands in her blonde hair- pulling her closer, not pushing him away. She’d gone for his lips, not his jugular, (though Gideon had spotted the mother of all lovebites on Dax’s neck the morning after.) They broke away, flushed and panting, as they saw Gideon running towards them with his stake raised.

Dax stepped in front of Lisa, and Gideon almost stumbled trying to stop in time.

“What- what are you doing?”

“Kissing,” Lisa called over his shoulder. “What’s it to you?”

“ _Kissing?_ ”

“Kissing,” Dax confirmed. “Look, could you-” he gestured with his hands like he was throwing an invisible ball, and a moment later Gideon realised he was trying to say _give us some space._

“Are you serious? Dax, she’s-”

“ _Standing right here,_ ” Lisa interjected, practically hissing at him. “So could you _please_ leave?”

 

*

 

“She’s a vampire!”

Across the table from Gideon, Clive looked around at Owen and Mia, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“You knew that, right? Tell me you already knew that,” Mia finally said, with half a smile.

“Of _course_ I did, but I didn’t know that they were _snogging!_ ”

“I think it’s more than that,” Owen said, thoughtfully. “I do think there’s genuine feeling between them.”

“You knew?”

“You _knew?_ ” Clive echoed, and not for the first time, Gideon wondered why they’d brought him into the gang in the first place. “You knew and you didn’t say anything?”  
Owen shrugged. “It wasn’t my place. I think you’re overreacting. Lisa’s proved herself worthy of our trust more than once.”

“I like her,” Mia added, smiling warmly. “If she makes Dax happy...”

“And I suppose _weirder_ things have happened,” Clive joined in once more, having got over the initial shock. “I mean, Mia dated a _werewolf,_ honestly-”

There was a sudden silence, and Clive floundered, while Mia looked at the floor. Her boyfriend had been hit by a car and died two months earlier, around the same time she’d become involved with the group.

“I’m sorry, Mia, I didn’t mean-”  
“It’s perfectly all right.” Mia smiled again, but it had lost the warmth of before. “You were right, it’s not so weird.”

“It _is_ weird,” Gideon grumbled, though mindful of the slightly awkward atmosphere they’ve stumbled into. “It’ll only end in tears, as my dad would say.”

 

*

The last thing Lisa saw when her soul was returned to her was Gideon, holding back tears, with a stake in his raised fist.

 

The last thing Gideon saw before he killed his best friend’s girlfriend was Dax himself, running towards him- obscured, for a moment, then clearly visible through a cloud of dust.

 

*

 

The first day of the autumn term was hot and almost humid. Sun streamed in through the windows of Owen’s workshops and dust motes and sawdust were clearly visible in the thick air. Gideon smiled at the familiarity of it all, trailing his hand across the rough wood of Owen’s favourite workbench. His watcher looked up from paperwork (school or council, Gideon could never tell,) and smiled warmly at him.

“Welcome back.”  
“You too.”  
They’d seen each other all summer, of course, but there was something about being back at base that made them both feel like they were coming home.

“So,” Owen said, with an air of someone who wanted to get bad news over quickly. Gideon knew exactly what. “I saw Dax this morning, walking to class.”

Gideon nodded. “So did I. Did he talk to you?”

“No, he didn’t stop. Have you two talked at all, over the summer?”

“I didn’t know his dad’s number, and he never answered his mobile. Do you think... God,” he sighed, “he hates me. I can’t even blame him.”

“He can’t blame _you_ for doing what needed to be done.”

“There should have been a different way.”

“There should. But there wasn’t.”

“I _miss_ him. He’s- what is it?” For Owen had stopped looking at him, and instead was looking at the doorway with a surprised, but fond expression. Gideon whirled around to see his best friend leaning against the door frame, a little self-conscious.

“Dax-”

“I forgive you,” he said, simply, “but I don’t want to talk about it. _Ever_. Okay?”

“Okay.” Gideon found his voice almost weak. “That’s- okay.”

“You two should go get some lunch,” Owen interjected, “and we’ll meet up after school. There’s a lot to go over.”

“Yeah,” Dax almost smiled. “I’ve missed the gang. Clive and Mia doing all right?”

“They’re fine. And Luke, he’s fine too.”

Owen didn’t miss the confusion that flit past Dax’s face, but if something was wrong, the boy didn’t mention it.

 

*

 

Clive couldn’t help but notice how quiet Dax was, during that day’s meeting. He was happy enough to see Clive and Mia, giving both of them hugs and listening to them chat about how their summer was. He seemed positively relaxed, until Gideon and Luke walked in, side by side. Gideon kept his distance, but Luke, though not saying anything, seemed baffled as to Dax’s coldness. The meeting ended more quickly than usual, the frosty atmosphere proving hard to break once everyone was there.

When they were filing out, Owen called for Dax to stay behind. He stayed, clearly reluctant, hovering by the door.

“I was going to help Gid with patrol.”  
“There’s plenty of time.”

“I _need_ to-” Dax stopped, and Owen could see the tell-tale signs of how he dealt with his anger, pushing it down and making it solid. Owen waited patiently, until Dax finally burst out- “look, am I going crazy, or what?”

“Crazy? Why?”

“ _Luke._ ”

That threw Owen for a loop. “What about him?”

“ _Who is he?_ Look, I know I’m out of the loop, but- what are you doing? _”_ Owen had crossed the room and had laid a hand to Dax’s forehead. “ _I am not ill!”_

“You’re not ill, but you don’t remember _Luke?_ ”

“ _Why should I?”_ Dax yelled. “Who the _hell_ is he?”

“ _Luke,_ ” Owen answered, growing increasingly worried. “Luke Reader, Gideon’s twin... Dax, you’ve been friends for years.”

Dax stepped back, growing cold again. Distant.

“Okay,” he finally said. “Sorry. I guess I’m just adjusting. Don’t worry about it.”

“Dax-”

“It’s _fine._ See you tomorrow.”

“ _Dax.”_

But Dax had gone, practically running through the door. Owen leaned back against his bench, and sighed deeply. _Another day, another demon,_ he thought- but somehow it rang less true.

 

*

 

If Luke was aware of Dax treating him differently, he didn’t show it. Weeks went by, and while Gideon and Dax became slowly closer again, Dax watched Luke like a hawk. He seemed less comfortable with leaving the twins alone together; would always volunteer to help patrol in place of Luke, or do homework, research- whatever would put him in Luke’s place for a few hours. Luke kept quiet, cracked the occasional joke that fell flat, and eventually, accepted the new order of things. He found himself hanging out more with Mia and Clive, letting the other two get on with it.

“Did I _do_ something?” Luke eventually complained, one day, as they studied out on the school field in the sunshine. Or, Clive studied- Mia was poring over a book of spells and Luke lay down on the grass, head in her lap. She absentmindedly stroked his hair with her free hand.

“Sorry?”

“To Dax. Did I do something to him? Did I black out and punch him in the face? Did _I_ kill Lisa?” He was almost amused at the surprised looks on their faces. “Yeah, strangely enough, I _have_ noticed what’s going on. Clive? Anything?”

Clive sighed, putting down his notes. “I’m afraid I have no idea. I’ve tried talking to him about it, but he just looks at me oddly and changes the subject.”  
“Same here,” Mia agreed. “I’m sorry, Luke, I really don’t know. Are you sure nothing happened between you?”  
“ _Nothing._ I was hardly even involved in Lisa’s death, was I? And we used to be- well, close. You know, since the beginning.” He refrained from saying, _and_ _I was here before you lot,_ but knew the meaning was clear.

“I think, maybe” Clive started, taking off his glasses to clean them, “I think Lisa’s death did something to him. More than the running away- some kind of memory loss, perhaps?”

“How do you mean?”

“Those first few days he was back... there was one time, when he asked me what ‘was up’ with you. As if he’d never met you before.”

“But-”  
“That’s right,” Mia added, suddenly frowning. “I remember, he asked me that too. Or rather- I don’t know. He was very shadowy about it all, like he didn’t want us to be...” she searched for the right word. “Suspicious?”

Clive nodded. “That’s right. We should talk to Owen about it.”

“You guys go ahead,” Luke said, heaving himself up into sitting position and gathering up his things. “I’ll grab Gid so we can all talk together.”

Minutes later, when Mia and Clive made it to the door of the woodshop classroom, they found Dax just leaving. Owen followed him out, saying, “Dax- wait,” but he’d taken off at a run, scowling. Owen leaned against the doorframe and let out a long, tired sigh.

“Are you two here about Luke?”

Mia and Clive nodded, mutely. Owen sighed again.

“Come in.”

 

*

 

Lisa greeted him, pale and weak, from her bed in the crypt. Dax smiled, momentarily forgetting his anger, and went over to brush her hair back from her face. He kissed her hello, briefly, and murmured, “you should be asleep.”

“It’s noisy outside. You’re here early,” she pointed out, and made room for him to curl up next to her. “Did you skip out on the cola club?” She’d named them that as a joke, a reference to their habit of refuelling on cola from the school vending machines on long nights of research sessions.

“Kinda,” he admitted. “Got in a fight with Owen.”  
“Ah. Cuckoo still going strong?”

“His name’s _Luke,_ ” he said, feeling a sudden flare of protectiveness. “And yeah, it was about him. Owen still thinks I’m crazy. Mia and Clive are suspicious. I _can’t_ tell Gideon.”

“Why not talk to the- to Luke, himself?”

“Yeah,” came a voice from the doorway. Luke stood there, looking almost frightened, having decided to follow Dax when he’d come rushing past him at school. “Why _don’t_ you talk to me?”

Lisa drew herself up so she was sitting straight, and looked on at him, fascinated.

“God, you were right.” She spoke softly. “They’re identical _._ ”

“Of _course_ we’re identical,” Luke said harshly, anger almost obscuring the shock at seeing Lisa alive, (or, as alive as the living dead can be.) “We’re _twins._ Lisa, you- come on. You _know_ me.” He paused, and then continued, “how are you even _here?_ ”

“Dimension stuff,” she answered, flicking her hair back nonchalantly. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving soon.”  
Dax turned to her. “Get some rest. We’ll take this outside and I’ll come back later, okay?” When he’d kissed her on the forehead and let her get settled back under the covers, he took Luke roughly by the arm until they were both outside, away from the crypt. Luke wrenched himself away, looking hurt and confused.

“What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with _me?”_ Dax almost laughed. “ _What are you?”_

“I don’t know what you mean. I’m _Luke._ ”

“You don’t exist!” He yelled back, finally releasing some of the frustration he’d been holding tight since he got back. “I looked you up, alright? Your school records, birth certificate- there’s _nothing._ You didn’t exist until this summer and for some reason, I’m the only one who can see it.”

Luke took a step back. “You’re crazy.”

“I am _not_ crazy. You need to tell me what the hell you’re doing-” he was interrupted by a snarl, and they both turned. “Oh, great.”

“You can finish yelling at me once we’re done with this guy,” Luke advised him, and Dax found himself back in the swing of it- no weapons, no plan just brawling with some lowlife from the sewers, by the smell of him, who didn’t know who he’d taken on. They’d almost finished with him when he evaporated- and they saw Gideon standing behind, stake raised. He looked at Dax almost coldly.

“Right,” Gideon said, when the silence had gone on for just too long. “I think the three of us need to have a chat.”

 

*

 

“So, you’re leaving?” Spook asked. He watched Lisa pack what possessions she had left in her crypt, while he unhelpfully lounged on the the bedclothes. “For where?”

“Thought I’d go find Darren,” she answered. She didn’t look at him, but could practically feel him tense up, becoming that little bit colder.

“He was heading to America, last time I heard,” he finally said. His voice was careful and controlled, but didn’t fool her.

“Come with me.”  
“What, bring the family back together?” He scoffed. “Yeah, right. Once he sees you’re alive again he’ll forget I even existed. More so than he already has.”

“It’s not like that.”  
“Oh, please. You’ll always be his _angel._ ” The tone of bitterness on his voice grated on her nerves, and she slammed the lid of her suitcase down and gripped it, staring down and breathing hard.  
“You _know_ I can’t help it. And you know he loves you, it’s just-”

“You’re his sire.”  
“Exactly. Don’t act like you’re not the same with him.”

“I’m not the same. I’m not _crazy._ And he’s getting worse- I hope you’re prepared for what you find.”

She picked up the case, and turned to face him. “Someone’s got to look after him,” she answered, trying not to sound accusative but knowing he’d take it the wrong way no matter what.

“I _tried-_ ”

“It’s fine. Spook, I don’t want to talk about this any more.”

“Why are you leaving?”

“I told you.”  
“No, why are you leaving _him?_ Jones?”

Lisa stilled, and for a moment, thought she could _see_ Dax; leaning in the doorway, straightening up her things, laughing softly. She shook her head to clear the image.

“It’s what’s best for him,” she said, and started walking towards the doorway. “You can have this place, if you want. I won’t be coming back.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them, if you want. The whole kiddie club.”

“ _Cola_ club,” she corrected, firmly, and then walked out of the crypt, for good.

 

*

 

“What did you say she wants? This Catherine chick?”

“The _key,_ ” Spook snarled, patience thin. “Like I said before. And no, before you ask, _again,_ I don’t know what that means.”

Gideon narrowed his eyes at him, and leant back against the cold stone wall of the mausoleum. “You know, I think I much preferred Lisa as our vampire guide.”

“Me too. Shut up and be grateful.”

 

*

 

“So,” Owen said, presiding over the table of the Cola club, (and Mia’s new girlfriend, Jenny.) “Let’s recap what we know.”

“Gideon’s not here,” Luke pointed out.

“I know, he’s on his way back from patrol. Clive?”

“The key,” Clive started to recite. “Mystical energy hidden in the form of- well, it could be anything, really.”

“Do we know what it does?”  
“Do we know what it _opens?_ ” Clive corrected, in that schoolteacher way of his. “No idea.”

“And Catherine? What do we know about her?”

“Demigod, really set on finding this thing... batshit crazy,” Jenny supplied. “That’s about it.”  
“Great,” Owen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just... great. How about- Gideon?” For Gideon had just run in. “What’s wrong?” His slayer was breathing heavily, a shocked, almost dazed look on his face.

“Had a run-in with a monk,” Gid said, “and, the key-” he stopped. For a moment, he stared at Luke, as if it was the first time he’d ever seen his twin. Dax sat up straighter, looking from twin to twin.

“Is human,” Dax finished for him. Gideon nodded, and slowly, painfully, the room turned to look at Luke. The silence that followed, Owen thought, could have been cut with a knife.

 

From the bench furthest away from the window, Spook laughed. “I say we let her have it,” he said.

 

*

“Is this blood?” Luke asked, numbly, watching drops of scarlet fall onto pictures of birthdays, awards evenings, holidays. “Am I real?”

 

*

 

Now Dax knew exactly what Luke was, he found it much easier to be around him. He’d taken a vow, with Gideon, to protect the innocent. He knew without a doubt that Luke was.

“I’m sorry,” he said one day, while they pored over research to find some hint of Catherine’s weakness. “For how I treated you. I was- I was scared,” he finished, somewhat lamely. “I wasn’t in a good place, head-wise.”

“I understand.” Luke was quiet. He was always very quiet, in those days. “I could have been a threat, for all you knew.”

“You’re not. Hey-” Luke had turned away, back to the books, and Dax took his arm. “We’re going to protect you, okay? All of us.”

“Even Spook?” He asked, with half a smile.

“Well... most of us. Gid and I won’t let anything happen to you,” he corrected. “And Owen, Clive, Mia, Jenny- we’re all here for you.”

Satisfied with Luke’s answering smile, he moved away to grab another volume, and missed Luke’s soft whisper.

_I can protect you, too._

 

*

 

“ _Luke,_ ” Gideon shouted, trying to get away from the fierce grip his mirror image had on his arms. “I have to go- I _have_ to-”  
“ _No._ Gideon, you can’t-”

Gideon pulled him into a fierce hug. With Luke’s head buried in his shoulder, he found time to murmur into his ear, before he wrenched away and set off at a run. On the ground, Dax, Mia and Clive were still fighting, still trying to prolong the inevitable. Gideon didn’t stop at the edge of the tower but kept running and fell until the portal swallowed him up.

Silence reigned.

 

*

_“Luke, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it.”_

 

*

 

 

Owen got off the train from Tregarren to London and walked the short route from the station to his house. He hadn’t seen it in a few years, and though cleaners had been in once a month, the place seemed musty and stale. He lifted off enough tarpaulin from the furniture to sit down and close his eyes. Coming home had never felt so awful before. He’d forgotten how the wind could echo through the old house, whistling, _you failed him, you failed him, you failed him._

He fell asleep, perhaps, or simply stared into space until his mobile rang and jolted him awake. He looked around and saw that it had grown dark. His mobile lit up and buzzed with the ringing until he finally flipped it open.

 

_Incoming call: Mia Cooper_

_Accept/Decline?_

 

He pressed accept.

“Mia?”

She was crying. “Owen- Owen, I did it. I actually did it.”

“Mia, slow down. What’s wrong? What did you do?”

She laughed, and he realised the tears he could hear were ones of joy, not sorrow, like they’d been used to in the last few weeks. “Mia?”

When she finally got the words out, he almost dropped the phone. In a daze, he hung up; and then picked up his suitcase and backpack from where he’d left them before, replaced the tarpaulin on the sofa, and left the building. The last train back to Tregarren, he knew, was in an hour’s time.

 

“ _He’s back.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written a few months ago, for a friend (tumblr: softpunkremus), and is the latest instalment in the COLA crossover series! Hope you like; next up is a fantasy court AU.


End file.
